I have been visiting clients about 100miles away on a regular basis for the last couple of months and have covered the mainly single carriage way trunk road journey in various cars. Yesterday I got to use my wife’s SLK200 instead of my E280CDI and it was an interesting comparison.
No surprises that the E Class is the better and more comfortable long distance car, and that the SLK is much more fun in the twisty bits, it chases apexes like a rat up a drainpipe!
With the sports suspension and 17” wheels, the ride is firm but the handling and grip are really good.
Couple of things I was not expecting, the fuel usage on the cars was very similar. 45mpg for the diesel E280 and 43mpg for the lighter but petrol SLK. Given the additional price of diesel, my fuel costs for either car were very similar. The fact that the diesel is quicker, smoother and quieter comes as no real surprise given progress in recent years, but that it was almost equalled on fuel economy by a petrol engine was!
The other observation was that the Pirelli Rosso tyres on the SLK made a ridiculous amount of noise on concrete surfaces whereas the Dunlop SP9000 on the E Class hardly differentiate between tarmac and concrete, but the E Class does make more row on concrete with Continental Sportcontacts on. I can see some more Dunlops coming up for the SLK as soon as the Mrs has finished wearing the Pirellis out!
The best bit is actually enjoying having to drive the 100miles…..
No surprises that the E Class is the better and more comfortable long distance car, and that the SLK is much more fun in the twisty bits, it chases apexes like a rat up a drainpipe!
With the sports suspension and 17” wheels, the ride is firm but the handling and grip are really good.
Couple of things I was not expecting, the fuel usage on the cars was very similar. 45mpg for the diesel E280 and 43mpg for the lighter but petrol SLK. Given the additional price of diesel, my fuel costs for either car were very similar. The fact that the diesel is quicker, smoother and quieter comes as no real surprise given progress in recent years, but that it was almost equalled on fuel economy by a petrol engine was!
The other observation was that the Pirelli Rosso tyres on the SLK made a ridiculous amount of noise on concrete surfaces whereas the Dunlop SP9000 on the E Class hardly differentiate between tarmac and concrete, but the E Class does make more row on concrete with Continental Sportcontacts on. I can see some more Dunlops coming up for the SLK as soon as the Mrs has finished wearing the Pirellis out!
The best bit is actually enjoying having to drive the 100miles…..
